Rahul Gandhi’s outreach to young women in Pune, built around calls to “smash the patriarchy” and break traditional social constraints, has triggered a fresh BJP-Congress political battle. Gandhi spoke about issues including unequal wages, property rights, restrictions on women’s mobility and discrimination based on appearance. His remarks on Manusmriti and women’s independence drew sharp reactions from the BJP, which accused him of performative politics and challenged him to “walk the talk” on women’s representation.
